BlackBerry will support BB10 until 2020, but the Priv has been flushed

HAS-BEEN PHONE MAKER BlackBerry has said it’ll continue to support its now-defunct BlackBerry 10 (BB10) OS until 2020, but it’s bad news for owners of the Priv.

BlackBerry, which claims there are still “millions” of people actively using BB10 and BBOS devices, said this week that it will continue to support BlackBerry 10 and provide network access for BBOS devices for ‘at least two full years’.

“We want to acknowledge that we know your productivity relies upon the security, reliability, dependability, durability, extended battery life, and ease-of-use we designed and built into each handset,” BlackBerry’s Alex Thurber wrote in a blog post.

“We want to reward your loyalty by committing to providing you with at least two full years of additional support for BB10 and at least two full years of BlackBerry network access for BBOS devices.”

This means that, until 2020, owners of now-ageing BlackBerry mobes will be able to download apps from the BB10 app store, although the firm hasn’t clarified whether it will continue to ply devices with updates and patches.

While it’s good news for those still rocking BlackBerry’s dated proprietary OS, it’s not such good news for owners of the Android-powered BlackBerry Priv, with BlackBerry confirming that – as the device is more than two-year’s old, it’ll no longer continue to receive updates.

“Having now stepped outside the original two-year window, we will no longer be delivering monthly updates for the PRIV moving forward,” Thurber said.

In a bid to keep hold of the supposed “millions” still using BB10 and BBOS, the firm also announced a trade-up programme that will give customers “significant” discounts if they swap their current Blackberry device for a BlackBerry KeyOne or Motion handset. µ

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